REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Marie Heuzé, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which also heard from Spokespersons for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the World Health Organization, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the World Trade Organization, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the Economic Commission for Europe, the International Organization for Migration and the Global Humanitarian Forum. Spokespersons for the World Food Programme and the United Nations Children’s Fund were also present, but had no announcements to make.

Somalia

Ms. Heuzé began by highlighting the strong joint condemnation issued yesterday of the horrific suicide car bombing in Somalia, which had killed the National Security Minister, Omar Hashi Aden, along with community leaders and other innocent Somalis. In a joint statement, the African Union, the European Union, the Intergovernmental Agency on Development, the League of Arab States and the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, had said the deplorable attack once again demonstrated that the extremists would stop at nothing in their desperate attempt to seize power from the legitimate Government of Somalia by force. The extremists posed a threat not only to Somalia, but to the whole region of West Africa, as well as to the international community. The statement was available in French and English in the press room.

Departing Iraq Mission Chief Delivers Assessment

On Iraq, Staffan de Mistura, the outgoing head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), had yesterday briefed the Security Council for the last time as the head of that Mission, Ms. Heuzé said. Mr. de Mistura had notably told the Council that the situation in Iraq was getting better. The process of national reconciliation was continuing, and he felt that the future looked “moderately bright” and that there was “growing hope”. That statement was available in the Press Room.

On a side note, Ms. Heuzé informed journalists that they were likely to be hearing from Staffan de Mistura here in Geneva in the future, as he had taken up the post of Deputy Director General of the World Food Programme.

Geneva Activities

Ms. Heuzé announced that, on Monday, 22 June, at the Palais des Nations, Ambassador Matthew Nimetz, the Personal Representative of the Secretary-General for the Greece-former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia would meet with the representatives of those countries to continue the ongoing discussions to find a solution regarding the official nomenclature for the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia acceptable to both sides. There would be a press conference on Monday with Ambassador Nimetz in Room III at 4:30 p.m. There had already been a number of meetings in New York, the last in October, when a proposal had been submitted to the two parties, a proposition they were to discuss Monday. The two Ambassadors involved were Ambassador Vassilakis of the Greece and Ambassador Jolewski for the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

In addition, next Tuesday, Bernard Kouchner, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of France, would address the Conference on Disarmament on the issue of nuclear disarmament, Ms. Heuzé said.

Today, there would be a briefing with International Labour Organization Director-General Juan Somavia, on the Global Jobs Pact, at 12 noon in Room III. There would also be a press conference with Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, John Holmes, this afternoon, which had been rescheduled to 2 p.m. today, also in Room III.

Human Rights Council

Rolando Gomez of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said the eleventh session of the Human Rights Council concluded yesterday, after having adopted 13 resolutions – 10 by consensus – on a wide range of issues. This morning, the Council was holding an organizational meeting to elect its new Bureau members, and to welcome new members of the Council. At the back of the room were lists showing the new composition of the Council, which included five new members. Also at the back of the room was the bio for the new President of the Council, Belgian Ambassador Alex van Meeuwen. As he spoke, outgoing Council President, Ambassador Martin Ihoeghian Uhomoibhi of Nigeria was making some closing remarks on his term to the Council. Those remarks were also available.

Post-Election Protests in Iran

Rupert Colville of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said that United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay had just issued a press release expressing her concern about reports of an increasing number of arrests, which might not be in conformity with the law, and the possible illegal use of excessive force and acts of violence by some militia members in the aftermath of the recent presidential elections in Iran. "The legal basis of the arrests that have been taking place, especially those of human rights defenders and political activists, is not clear," Ms. Pillay said. That raised a number of questions: What were the grounds for the arrests? Had proper warrants been issued in accordance with Iranian law? Why had some of those who had been arrested been denied access to lawyers and members of their families? And why were the whereabouts of others unknown? Those were all troubling questions, and the High Commissioner was urging the Iranian Authorities to ensure that due process was followed.

Freedom of expression and freedom of assembly were fundamental human rights, and the High Commissioner had commended the largely peaceful and dignified conduct of the huge demonstrations that have been taking place in the Iranian capital, Teheran, Mr. Colville said. In her statement, Ms. Pillay had expressed particular concern about reported acts of violence by members of the Basij militia, which might also be in contravention of international and Iranian national law. She strongly urged the authorities to ensure that official and semi-official forces acted strictly in accordance with the law. "It is the responsibility of the Government to ensure that militia members and regular law enforcement agencies do not resort to illegal acts of violence. If they are perceived to be acting outside the law, it could provoke a serious deterioration in the security situation, which would be a great tragedy and is in nobody's interests," Ms. Pillay observed. Copies of the High Commissioner’s statement were available.

Responding to queries, Mr. Colville said the exact number of arrests were not known, though they would appear to be in the hundreds. OHCHR did not have a presence in Iran, but had had contacts with non-governmental organizations working there.

Situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Elisabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said humanitarian actors in the Democratic Republic of the Congo had appealed for $38 million to come to the assistance of nearly 1 million civilians whose already poor situation had grown worse when they were forced to flee following armed attacks and military operation in the eastern part of the country (North and South Kivu). Women and children had been the most affected. The constant movement of population had also affected humanitarian workers as it had made the planning and the delivery of aid more difficult. Weeks of fighting had left North Kivu in a dire humanitarian situation, with massive population displacement, killings, acts of sexual violence, lack of protection and other human rights violations. The $23 million was needed for education, logistics, nutrition, non-food items, protection, water and sanitation. The situation in South Kivu was a mirror image of the one in the north, and an additional $15 million was needed to address the situation there.

Regarding the explosion in sexual violence, 1,135 cases of rape had been recorded in the first three months of 2009, representing more than half the number for all of the previous year, 2008. There were also an increasing number of robberies, physical assault and other acts perpetrated against aid workers, which could compromise the delivery of aid. Since January 2009, there had been 61 acts of violence against aid workers had been recorded in North Kivu, Ms. Byrs underscored.

The total appeal for the Democratic Republic of the Congo was $831 million, which was currently only 52 per cent funded. This new appeal for $38 million was a supplementary appeal to come to the assistance of those in the east of the country, Mr. Byrs explained.

World Refugee Day

Ron Redmond of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said that tomorrow, 20 June, was World Refugee Day, a day to remember the more than 42 million uprooted people around the world, as well as the tens of millions of former refugees who had rebuilt their lives. And, as reported on Tuesday, the number of those uprooted had grown significantly since the beginning of the year in places such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Somalia.

Refugees were not just faceless they were real people who through no fault of their own had lost everything, Mr. Redmond observed. For that reason, the theme of this year’s World Refugee Day was “Real People, Real Needs”. The sobering reality was that there were substantial gaps in the ability of UNHCR to provide those people with the essentials such as shelter, health, education, nutrition, sanitation and protection from violence and abuse.

UNHCR offices worldwide had prepared a wide range of activities to commemorate the Day. Here in Geneva, the 140-metre-high Jet d’Eau was being lit in United Nations blue and UNHCR flags would be flown along the Mont Blanc Bridge and on city buses and trams. A copy of message by the High Commissioner for Refugees on the occasion of World Refugee Day was available at the back of the room.

Other

Mr. Redmond said details had been sent yesterday of another smuggling tragedy in the Gulf of Aden. Eighteen people had drowned and another 29 were missing and presumed dead after the smuggling boat they were on had capsized off the coast of Yemen this week. To date, 146 had drowned and 85 were missing. However, the sailing season was beginning to wind down, as the weather was quite stormy in the Gulf. There was a briefing note available.

In Pakistan, Mr. Redmond said UNHCR was mounting an airlift of more than 35,000 kilograms of relief supplies donated by the Irish and the Norwegian Governments for UNHCR operations on behalf of displaced people in Pakistan’s North West. The flight from Brindisi in Italy to Islamabad had been organized in cooperation with OCHA, the World Food Programme and others.

Thomas Abraham of World Health Organization (WHO) said that, as they were moving from the emergency phase with regard to the H1N1 flu pandemic to a more long-term response, media arrangements would change accordingly. Clearly, there was now no longer a need for daily or even weekly briefings, unless something actually happened. WHO hoped to hold briefings next week, to concentrate on specific issues, such as vaccines and anti-virals, or any significant developments. WHO would continue to update the H1N1 flu figures three times a week. At this stage the number of new cases did not really tell them that much, and WHO efforts would be to look for underlying trends within those figure – such as severity, whether different kinds of people were differently effected, etc. So, from now on the flow of information would be slower, but it was hoped the quality would be richer.

Janaina Borges of the World Trade Organization (WTO) said that next Friday the WTO and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) would launch a joint report, which aimed to improve understanding about trade and climate change, among others looking at the relationship between trade and climate change, how trade affected greenhouse gas emission, and if more open trade help to address climate change. The launch event would be on Friday, 26 June at 11 a.m. at WTO headquarters. WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner would present the report. Copies would be available for those attending, and a press release with highlights would also be issued on Wednesday, under embargo until the launch.

Ms. Borges also announced the schedules of WTO meetings, and the meetings of WTO Director-General, Pascal Lamy, for the coming week. Copies of the schedules were available in the press room.

On the issue of report launchings, Ms. Heuzé noted that the World Drug Report 2009 would be officially launched by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa in Washington, D.C. on 25 June next week. Available were copies of the report in book and DVD form, as well as press kits, under embargo until 24 June at 2 p.m. GMT.

Catherine Sibut-Pinote of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said that on Monday afternoon there would be a review of investment policy with regard to Burkina Faso on the basis of report presented at the Executive Meeting of the UNCTAD Council, in the presence of the Minister for Trade and Enterprise of Burkina Faso. This review was taking place as part of a series of reviews of national investment policy. Also on Africa, UNCTAD was launching its new annual report on Africa, in French and English. Copies were available in the press room. A press briefing would be held on Monday, at 11.30 a.m. in Room III, following the regular briefing, by the UNCTAD Director of the Division for Least Developed Countries. This year’s report focused on regional integration in Africa, and noted that regional integration could provide a response to the impact of the economic and financial crisis – which would undoubtedly hit the continent hard. The report looked at the number of obstacles, political and structural, to regional integration, but found that there was an enormous potential for Africa to develop inter-African trade and investment and predicted that Africa could emerge as an economic power to reckon with if that happened in the not too distant future. The report was under embargo until 25 at 6 p.m. GMT. Geneva was the main launch site for the report, but there were press conferences being held on the report all over the world, including in Brussels, Paris and New York, where UNCTAD Chief Supachai Panitchpakdi would be presenting the report.

Jean Rodriguez of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) said that next week UNECE was organizing a regional road safety conference in Halkida, Greece, on 25 and 26 June, to examine the road traffic safety situation in South-Eastern Europe. Representatives from all the countries of the region would discuss the global and European road safety contexts, report on national progress and share best practices. The event was part of a series of United Nations regional commissions’ workshops to promote the setting and implementation of regional and national road traffic reduction targets, which could help focus and motivate action. The fact was the road safety situation had remained stable or worsened in South-Eastern Europe, and the Conference hoped to spur Governments with lagging road safety figures to adopt the proven strategies and norms that had worked in others.

Mr. Rodriguez also drew attention to the launch this week of an ECE report on informal settlements, such as squats and shantytowns – the first comprehensive study of its kind. The phenomenon touched not only countries with economies in transition, but also developed countries, with a number of cases in Italy, Portugal, Greece and elsewhere.

Jean-Philippe Chauzy of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that IOM had signed a comprehensive agreement with the German government to provide sustainable socio-economic reintegration assistance to conflicted-affected women and girls living in northern Lofa County in Liberia. The nine-month programme would promote sustainable livelihood opportunities for these women, who had been particularly exposed to sexual violence during the 14 years of conflict in the country.

Keith Collins of the Global Humanitarian Forum said on 23 and 24 June, over 400 senior international participants would attend the larges meeting ever held on the human impact of climate change. Chaired by Kofi Annan, the 2009 Forum “Human Impact of Climate Change”, would unite in engaged debate leading people committed to making progress on humanitarian concerns from across the global society – be they heads of State and Government, public figures, scientists or talented young people. Opening the Forum on Monday morning at the Geneva Intercontinental Hotel would be Kofi Annan, the President of the Global Humanitarian Forum, and Micheline Calmy-Rey, Swiss Federal Councillor and Minister for Foreign Affairs.